The Big VIII League has long been one of the toughest softball leagues in the nation, and it does not appear the league will be suffering any kind of letdown this season.

Norco opened the year by defending its title at the Dana Housley Memorial Tournament in Rancho Cucamonga, and King captured the Stu Penter Classic championship in Corona.

Norco, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation by FloSoftball.com, held off a late rally by Etiwanda to post a 6-3 win in the Housley final Thursday afternoon. Sarah Willis scattered eight hits and struck out seven in the circle, and she also went 3 for 3 with a walk at the plate. Sierra Marshall had a pair of RBI singles for the Cougars.

Norco trailed Orange Lutheran 3-0 after one inning in the semifinal, but the Cougars scored the next seven runs and held on for a 7-5 victory. Kinzie Hansen went 4 for 5 and drove in two runs to lead the offense. Bianca Gonzalez also plated a pair of runs.

King knocked off Yucaipa 8-2 to win the Penter Classic for the first time since 2012. Larissa Cesena, MacKenzie Meech and Alexis Delgado had two RBIs apiece for the Wolves.

Amiyah Aponte went the distance and struck out eight to earn the victory. Aponte was brilliant the previous night, outdueling Valencia’s Shea O’Leary as the Wolves posted a 2-0 win in the semifinals. Aponte, a sophomore, was chosen MVP of the tournament.

Yucaipa reached the title game by beating 2017 champion Murrieta Mesa in the semis.

King’s championship run nearly was derailed in the quarterfinals, as it trailed Ayala 5-4 going into the top of the seventh inning. The Wolves scored 14 runs and won 18-5.

Chantal Millard, King’s first-year coach, said she pulled her three captains — Meech, Brenna Smith and Megan White — before the start of that seventh inning.

“Throughout the game, we lacked communication, energy and leadership,” said Millard, who was a star player at Riverside Poly and Cal Baptist. “It was showing on the field, so I tried to light a fire under them. They went into the dugout and spoke with the rest of the team. And they responded. It was a good reminder not to be complacent.”

State basketball finals to remain in Sacramento

The CIF State office announced Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, will remain the host site of the state basketball championship games through 2021.

“Golden 1 Center is a world-class facility, providing many memorable moments for all those involved in the CIF State Basketball Championships,” CIF executive director Roger Blake said in released issued by the state office Monday.

This season will be the 20th time Sacramento has hosted the state basketball finals. Golden 1 Center hosted the games for the first time last year. The previous 18 times were at Sleep Train Arena (previously known as ARCO Arena and Power Balance Pavilion).

“Hosting the student‐athletes who will become future stars on and off the court is an incredible honor that we take very seriously,” Sacramento Kings president of business operations John Rinehart said. “We’re excited to welcome basketball fans around the state to Sacramento for a fantastic weekend full of excitement and entertainment.”

This year’s state championship basketball games will take place on March 23 and 24.

Hampton off to flying start

Yucaipa senior Asani Hampton raised a few eyebrows Saturday afternoon when he won the 100-meter race at the Saddle up Invitational in Murrieta in a time of 10.53 seconds.

That sterling early-season time by Hampton is the fastest in the state at the moment. In fact, the top six wind-legal times in the state this season came during that race. Hampton was followed by Rancho Cucamonga’s Christopher Hill (10.68), Rancho Verde’s Carlton Johnson (10.84), San Gorgonio’s Lorenzo McMillan (10.84), Rancho Cucamonga’s Kyle DeMoica (10.85) and Rancho Verde’s Jamar Simpson (10.91).

Hampton’s personal best is 10.40 seconds, a wind-aided run that placed him fourth at last year’s state meet. Hampton, who has signed with Michigan, has a good chance to break the San Bernardino County record of 10.37, set by Redlands’ Pat Johnson in 1994.

Eric-Paul Johnson has been covering high school sports for The Press-Enterprise since 1999, specializing in football, girls volleyball, girls water polo and softball. He is a stat junkie who created and maintains a record book for high school sports in the Inland Empire. Eric-Paul is a lifelong resident of Riverside and graduated from Bethel Christian and Cal Baptist. Eric-Paul enjoys going to concerts and twice has worked as a photographer at the Coachella Valley Arts & Music Festival.

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